Washington Post: UC’s OIP frees 29th defendant amid COVID-19 scare
The case of an Ohio man who walked free last month after serving 12 years in prison for a crime in which DNA evidence implicated another suspect is attracting national attention.
Chris Smith marked the 29th person freed with the help the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. A 30th client, Isiah Andrews, celebrated his freedom two weeks later.
A federal judge overturned Smith’s 2008 conviction for armed robbery on April 9, and issued an order calling for his immediate release. Yet Smith’s attorneys say various officials defied the order and continued to hold Smith—who is at special medical risk from COVID-19—in custody for five more days, first at the Toledo Correctional Institution, where he’d been serving his sentence, and then at the Hamilton County Justice Center in Cincinnati.
It took two more court orders—one from a Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas judge and a third from the same federal judge—before Smith was finally released on April 14.
Michele Berry Godsey, a 2006 UC College of Law alumnus and former OIP participant, represented Smith both at his original trial in Hamilton County 12 years ago and in his appeal. Throughout the trial, she repeatedly requested DNA evidence found on a disguise worn by the perpetrator during the robbery, but didn’t receive the full DNA evidence until several months after Smith’s conviction.
Smith appealed on various constitutional violations. In June 2019, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Smith’s favor and sent the case back to the lower court to resolve final issues.
Read the original story here: UC’s OIP helps free 29th defendant
Media Coverage Generated by Smith's Case:
- Washington Post: Coronavirus concerns keep man locked in prison after double-murder conviction is overturned
- The Atlantic: Innocent Prisoners Are Going to Die of the Coronavirus
- Crime Story Daily: Amanda Knox Interview: ‘This Is Inhumane. It’s Craven. It’s Heartbreaking’
- Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio officials defied judge, held inmate with acute coronavirus risk, lawyer says
- Local 12: Cincinnati man released from prison after 12 years after conviction overturned
- Local 12: Federal judge grants man's release from prison amid pandemic, no decision on retrial
- Spectrum News1: Ohio Innocence Project Frees 29th Defendant
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Stay up on all UC's COVID-19 stories, read more #UCtheGood content, or take a UC virtual visit and begin picturing yourself at an institution that inspires incredible stories.
Featured image at top: Christopher Smith celebrates his release from the Hamilton County Justice Center on April 14, 2020, from a safe social distance with attorney Michele Berry Godsey, a UC College of Law alumnus and former OIP participant. Smith served 12 years in prison for an armed robbery that DNA evidence later implicated a different perpetrator. Photo/provided/Mark Godsey
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.